Liquid products, such as beverages, may be batch processed and dispensed into containers. Various types of containers can be used, including cans, cartons, or bottles. Typically, the beverage is pumped through lines and then dispensed into individual containers. Depending on the type of beverage, additional processing may be performed before, during, or after filling. For example, heat or sterilization treatment may be performed on dairy-based beverages.
To provide variety, beverages are offered in different flavors. In conventional production lines, one flavor is produced at a time. The lines need to be cleaned prior to producing a different flavored beverage. Cleaning involves flushing the lines with hot rinse water. Additionally, the production line then needs to be charged with the new liquid product to remove the rinse water. This requires the production line to be completely shut down until cleaning and charging is completed, resulting in significant down-time (e.g., 20-30 minutes) of the production line, as well as high water consumption and product waste.
Thus, from the foregoing discussion, it is desirable to provide an efficient processing system for liquid products. While liquid processing systems according to the prior art provide a number of advantageous features, they, nevertheless, have certain limitations. The present invention seeks to overcome certain of these limitations and other drawbacks of the prior art, and to provide new features not heretofore available.